Stand-Up Comedy On Netflix

Jimmy Carr & The Funniest Stand-Up On Netflix

Jimmy Carr became the first British comedian to release an original stand-up special on Netflix this week (18 March), with hour-long gig Jimmy Carr: Funny Business. But where does it figure in our countdown of the top 10 stand-up specials on the streaming service?

Zach Galifianakis – Live At The Purple Onion

Four years before The Hangover films made him a household name, this 2005 comedy special-cum-tour documentary shows the dry, self-deprecating, beardy North Carolina funnyman at the peak of his stand-up career. It flits between his intimate, semi-improvised set at the celebrated San Francisco basement club (after introducing himself, he adds "I hope I've pronounced that right”) and footage of Galifianakis travelling and goofing around.

Sample gag: "When you have sex on a Greyhound bus, it's called the 36-inch High Club.”

Demetri Martin – Live (At The Time)

The nerdy New Yorker, an Edinburgh Festival award-winner and former contributor to The Daily Show, performs a 2015 set at Washington DC’s Lincoln Theater which mixes deadpan one-liners with flights of fancy and the odd musical interlude. Don’t worry, though – it’s not pretentious, just keenly observed and infectiously hilarious as Martin pokes fun at dating, cheese, hipsters, pets, road signs and social faux pas.

Jim Gaffigan – Beyond The Pale

The pale, schlubby, deceptively skillful stand-up’s first special, shot in 2005 at The Vic Theatre in his hometown of Chicago, showcased his sarky, deadpan observational style and obsession with food – the “Hot Pocket” segment has become a cult classic. As a father-of-five (and the youngest of six children himself), Gaffigan’s especially good on fatherhood and family life. And laziness. And cake. And steak. And bacon.

Sample gag: “Birthday gifts are tricky. ‘Oh, a robe. Wow, I hope I get the flu so I can wear it. What are we, about to shoot a porno?’ ‘Hey thanks, you got me a candle. You know I have electricity, right? Look if my place smells, just let me know.’”

Jim Jefferies – Bare

Seasoned Aussie comic and “equal opportunities offender” Jefferies struck a nerve in the US with this 2014 special filmed at Boston’s Wilbur Theatre, due to the funnier-than-it-might-sound material about gun control. He compared American reaction to recent mass shootings with the response to a similar massacre in his home country, which proved both incisive and timely. But it’s not all weaponry-based lolz – there’s also near-the-knuckle riffs on fatherhood, male friendship, sex and celebrity.

John Mulaney – The Comeback Kid

Boyishly gawky in his snappy suit, Mulaney’s 2015 spesh at the Chicago Theater has that title because he left SNL to get his own much-hyped sitcom vehicle on Fox. It flopped and was cancelled, hence this return to stand-up. But the career blip’s no reflection on Mulaney’s slickly witty, endearingly self-deprecating style, as he confidently riffs on Back To The Future, McDonald’s, Catholicism, dogs, dads, estate agents, marriage and meeting Bill Clinton.

Sample gag: “I’m married now, so I get to say ‘my wife’, which is exciting. It’s fun to say ‘my wife’. I’m looking forward to saying it a lot. ‘Get away from my wife!’ ‘No one talk to my wife!’ ‘I didn’t kill my wife!’”

Bill Burr – I’m Sorry You Feel That Way

The blue-collar ginger Bostonian is best known here for playing Patrick Kuby, one of Saul Goodman’s hired hands in Breaking Bad,but his day job is as a ranty, perma-enraged stand-up, with a persona like the loud drunk dude in a bar. Burr specialises in crass, crude, contrarian diatribes shot through with moments of wise clarity and he’s especially strong on sexism, racism, religion, romcoms and zombies. He’s been called “a thoughtful troll” and “a self-aware YouTube comment”. This 2014 set, shot in black-and-white at the Atlanta Tabernacle, is unflinching, fresh and devastatingly funny.

Sample gag: “Any other town you go to, there's this little devil and a little angel on your shoulder. A little good advice, a little bad advice. You go to Las Vegas, there's like a devil and a devil and they're just battling it out the whole time. It's like, 'Smoke some crack!' 'Get a hooker!'"

Anthony Jeselnik – Thoughts & Prayers

The acid-tongued former Jimmy Fallon writer and ex of Amy Schumer is nicknamed “the dark prince of comedy”. With his arrogant stage persona and amoral stance, the deadpan Pittsburgh stand-up specialises in blackly funny one-liners and uncomfortable truths that you feel guilty about giggling at. This 2015 special filmed at The Fillmore in San Francisco, sees him tackle taboo topics and national tragedies – before slyly revealing the secrets behind his edgy, provocative style.

Sample gag: “My girlfriend makes me want to be a better person... so I can get a better girlfriend.”

Jimmy Carr – Funny Business

Filmed in front of a sellout audience at Hammersmith Apollo, this is something of a landmark show, as it’s the first stand-up special by a Brit comic on the streaming service’s US-dominated selection. Eyebrow permanently arched, tongue firmly in cheek, James Anthony Patrick Carr rattles through his cleverly constructed one-liners (150 of them, to be precise), remorselessly deals with hecklers and somehow manages to offend everybody – while making them laugh so much, they don’t really care.

Sample gag: "I talked to an African woman for hours, in her own language. We just clicked."

Aziz Ansari – Buried Alive

This hour-plus stand-up special, shot in 2013 at Philadelphia’s Merriam Theatre, sees the star of Parks & Rec and Master Of None training his sharp observational style on such textbook 30 something subjects as online dating and dick pics. His irreverent riff on marriage is a highlight but he’s also superb on the tiny injustices of everyday life.

Sample gag: “Texting dick pics. What a bizarre thing to become so commonplace. Thirty years ago, if I went up to a woman and said, ‘Hi, I recently took some photos of my penis and just got them developed. Could I get your mailing address so I can send you a few copies?’ I’d get thrown in jail and the headline would read ‘Polaroid dick bandit busted’.

Louis C.K. – Live At the Beacon Theater

Self-financed, self-distributed and remarkably low-key – bare stage, grubby T-shirt and jeans – this 2011 New York gig shows Louis at the absolute top of his game. Who needs gimmicks or fancy lighting when your material’s this strong? He’s conversational and infectiously silly as he tackles sex, sweets, drugs, death, driving, elevator etiquette and air travel, in a style that’s cynical yet heartfelt. It won an Emmy, while Louis donated the proceeds to charity.

Sample gag: “Don’t text or Twitter during the show. Just live your life. Don’t keep telling people what you’re doing. Also, it lights up your big dumb face.”

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